N.Y. police chief criticizes use of force in ex-tennis star's arrest

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

US | Thu Sep 10, 2015 1:39pm EDT

N.Y. police chief criticizes use of force in ex-tennis star's arrest

BY SCOTT MALONE

New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said on Thursday he was concerned over the level of force used in the arrest of former U.S. tennis star James Blake, who was mistakenly identified as a suspect in a fraud ring.

Bratton said he wanted to speak to Blake to apologize for the incident, and so police could hear his version of events.

Blake, who is black, was surrounded by six plainclothes officers outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday while waiting for a car to take him to the U.S. Tennis Open. One of the officers slammed him to the ground before handcuffing him.

The incident involving a well-known athlete revived questions over excessive police force that reverberated around the country after a series of police killings of unarmed black men that sparked sometimes violent protests.

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Bratton said he was also concerned that no report had been made of Blake's arrest and detention, which became public after the former player reported it to the New York Daily News.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/09/10/us-tennis-blake-idUSKCN0RA20820150910

[randys1]

1. Millionaire gets apology, and he should. Did Eric Garner's wife ever get one?

[geek tragedy]

3. she got a $6.4 million check nt

[randys1]

4. Not enough

[Rex]

5. Did she get an apology? That is a nice check, but it won't buy her husbands life back.

I bet not.

[randys1]

6. Yeah, and as much as that amount sounds, not nearly enough. If you wanna stop this shit

you make it SO painful, financially, that it simply cant happen.

[Rex]

9. Part of that problem is it does not punish those involved.

The money comes from the city and the taxpayers, so the cops don't have anything to worry about. They can never be held liable for causing a death. They SHOULD be liable imo, but never are.

Until we stop treating cops as these all-godlike figures that are never wrong; we will continue to see the 'bad apples' commit murder in broad daylight. And get away with it.

[randys1]

10. True, but if they are shielded from suits, this is the only way to stop it.

Taxpayers and city officials will put a stop to it if the pain is great enough.

[Rex]

12. I hope so, it needs to be painful for the local government.

Since they are the people responsible for hiring the CoP etc..

[geek tragedy]

8. the guys who killed her husband tried to apologize.

she, very understandably, wasn't having it

[Rex]

11. But they did try, I was really wondering if they did or not or just dropped it like a hot potato.

I am not surprised by her reaction either, it would be mine too.

[randys1]

13. Over selling a one dollar god damn cigarette, yeah, were me, they would have to stuff

their apology.

[Rex]

14. I still cannot believe the actual guy that choked him to death is still part of the PD!

So he gets to choke someone ELSE to death now...gee, at one time weren't cops supposed to make a society feel safer? We really got fucked up somewhere down the line.

[KeepItReal]

2. Imagine being accosted by six men in street clothes outside your hotel

That shit must have been terrifying - especially since they didn't announce themselves as police initially according to Mr. Blake.

[Rex]

7. The only thing Bratton is upset about, is that his cops brutalized a public figure.

Concerned that there was no report? LOL! Please! All you care about is that your cops got caught abusing another black man without rhyme or reason.

NYPD...ack...

[left-of-center2012]

15. "no report had been made of Blake's arrest and detention"

"which became public after the former player reported it to the New York Daily News."

[Dems to Win]

16. Only meaningful if chief now stops pretending these are isolated incidents. nt